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BenchPrep's test-prep interface for iPhone.

The days of students leafing through test-prep material are almost a thing of the past. So says BenchPrep, a Chicago-based company that moves such material from the pages of the Princeton Review to the screens of mobile devices and laptops.

The company is in the middle of a pilot program that puts its learning platform in front of students from New Mexico, Connecticut and Pennsylvania and so far results have been compelling, co-founder Ashish Rangnekar said.

In the case of BenchPrep’s New Mexico adventure, the product – test prep material for SAT and ACT tests in digital form – is being used in 20 school districts, available to students on smartphones, tablets and laptops, Rangnekar said. Modern students tend to gravitate to these mediums and have come to eschew the old-fashioned book format.

“They want apps, they want software, they relate more to online learning rather than flipping through the pages of a book,” Rangnekar said.

The online format allows teachers to monitor students’ progress through test and course prep material through a dashboard. BenchPrep’s similar ability to oversea the pilot program has taught the company that within a month, more than 60% of the students have been actively using the courses. Of those, about 70% of those are using the courses on multiple devices. Use of the platforms is also seeing week over week increases, Rangnekar said.

BenchPrep’s other pilot program efforts include use by Connecticut’s Capitol Region Education Council and Pennsylvania’s Colonial Intermediate Unit 20—as a test before further implementation within that state’s educational system. The company doesn’t only act as a study-assistant—it offers courses in the use of software tools like Excel and Adobe.

The company is not alone in its focus on educational books to digital platforms. Both Kno and Inkling have built businesses on textbook to device services.

Rangnekar said that its possible BenchPrep will begin to look for capital. The company raised about $6 million last July.